~Early Electrical Lamps~
Over the course of this research assignment, I’ll further my discussion into Primitive Lighting, by moving onto the development and Production of Early Electric Lamps. All material shown in Italics has been taken from another Website shown in the bibliography at the bottom of the page. All other material is original and has been written by myself.
Introduction:
Electrical Lamps, powered by incandescent light bulbs, are a contemporary source of light. Incandescent lights in todays modern day, create lights with a wire filament that is heated by an electrical current passing through it. While incandescent light is certainly a modern practice, the origins of it’s creation go far back to the days of Thomas Edison. Perhaps even more back. The history of early incandescent lamps goes far back, with a rich history filled with a vast amount of designers, engineers and innovators.
The Creation of the Electrical Lamp:
~The Following Material has been edited to put it into context~
In 1802, Humphry Davy had what was then the most powerful electrical battery in the world at the Royal Institution of Great Britain (with the possible exception of another one made in the same year by Vasily Petrov in Russia. In that year, Davy created the first incandescent light by passing the current through a thin strip of platinum, chosen because the metal had an extremely high melting point. It was not bright enough nor did it last long enough to be practical, but it was the precedent behind the efforts of scores of experimenters over the next 75 years.[8]
The Text shown above demonstrates what is possibly the firs signs of experimentation into Incandescent lighting. While Humphry Davy never patented the creation, the research clearly shows the first known, recorded signs. But, at this point in the research, the lamp was not intended for practical home use for not only was it extremely expensive and taxing to run, there were better options available.
- Over the first three-quarters of the 19th century many experimenters worked with various combinations of platinum or iridium wires, carbon rods, and evacuated or semi-evacuated enclosures. Many of these devices were demonstrated and some were patented.
- In 1835, James Bowman Lindsay demonstrated a constant electric light at a public meeting in Dundee, Scotland. He stated that he could “read a book at a distance of one and a half feet”.
The Information above shows the first electrical lamps were made. It was not until later when Thomas Edison completed his invention that it would be propelled into commercial use.
Sourcing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb
MythBusters ~ 09ELECT 